Breakdown of Het is gevaarlijk om iets nieuws in het laboratorium te meten.
zijn
to be
in
in
het
it
nieuw
new
Questions & Answers about Het is gevaarlijk om iets nieuws in het laboratorium te meten.
How does the om ... te structure work in this sentence?
The pattern Het is [adjective] om ... te [verb] is the Dutch way to say "It is [adjective] to [verb]". In this sentence, the dummy subject Het is gevaarlijk (It is dangerous) sets up the opinion, and the clause om ... te meten (to measure) explains exactly what is dangerous.
Why is there an -s added to the end of nieuw in iets nieuws?
Whenever you describe an indefinite pronoun like iets (something), niets (nothing), or veel (a lot) with an adjective, you must add an -s to that adjective. Because of this rule, "something new" translates to iets nieuws.
Why is te meten placed at the very end of the sentence?
In an om ... te clause, the word om marks the start of the action, and te plus the full verb (meten) must be pushed to the very end. Any extra details, like the object (iets nieuws) and the location (in het laboratorium), get sandwiched safely in between them.
How do I know to use het instead of de for laboratorium?